SIMPLE VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH BISCOFF GLAZE

This is a chocolate cake you throw together real quick. It goes with tea and friends coming over on semi-short notice. It also goes with breakfast. You probably have everything in your cupboard to make it. It is vegan, with whole grain flour and unrefined sugar, sure. It’s not the healthiest thing you can make, but it’s a cake. The cake that understands.

I bake it in a loaf pan for that extra casual je ne sais quoi. Then I cover it in a glaze made with biscoff and little chopped almonds, cacao nibs, and coconut; drizzling and sprinkling my way to party time, all kind of on a whim. It’s an unassuming and humble cake that you dress up a bit for company (or yourself). I love that. There’s a feeling of spontaneity lurking in its potential when you bring it out.

The biscoff finish is sweet, nutty, luxurious, and actually rife with guilt in a very special bad-but-feels-good kind of way. You’re essentially glazing a simple cake with a butter made out of cookies. Another reminder seems necessary: it’s a cake.

I had seen biscoff appear on a lot of blogs in the last year or so. Only when I saw it on one of my faves, the amazing Oh, Ladycakes, did I start to get kind of anxious about finding some (ingredient-driven anxiousness, yep that happens). Instead of performing a basic google search, I decided to inquire with Ashlae herself. And you know what that fancy lady did? She asked for my mailing address (in a non-creepy way, trust) and she sent me a jar. In the mail.

There was homemade vanilla extract in a sweet little burlap bag too, all carefully bubble wrapped. It was genuine and generous, much like Ashlae herself. It was an instance of honest kindness that made me excited for the world at large. I always feel good to be right here, but this reminded me of the islands of sanity that do exist in this bizarre, but still big and beautiful, world.

I can get caught up in the mire of the crazy a bit and in turn, can be the worst at responding to things in a general way. Comments on the blog, social media things, invitations to whatever, personal emails, calling people back etc etc. I’m a talk-it-out-in-the-real kind of gal for the most part, so it just takes me a bit longer to completely sort the right response most times. In this instance, cake was a natural approach. It’s my way of reflecting that kindness back at a few more people. Easy chocolate cake sweetness for all :)

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vegan chocolate cake + biscoff glaze recipebarely adapted from The Post Punk Kitchenserves: makes 1 regulation loaf-sized cakenotes: I used some cultured coconut milk for this cake. You could easily substitute that with buttermilk, kefir or 1 cup of whatever milk you like with a big squeeze of lemon added ahead of time to make it curdle. Also, some all purpose or whole wheat flour would sub in for light and whole spelt just fine. If you can’t find biscoff spread, peanut butter would be delicious in its place.

biscoff glaze:
1/4 cup biscoff
1 cup powdered sugar (if you use the organic/not super refined kind, make sure you sift it a couple times)
2 tsp maple syrup
a splash of vanilla extract
3 tbsp milk of your choice (I went the cultured route again for some tang)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan with some of the coconut oil. Line it with parchment paper and then grease the paper lightly as well. Set aside.

Sift all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Push through any lumps of cocoa powder with your fingers.

In a separate, smaller bowl combine all of the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine, making sure there are no demerara sugar lumps in the mix. It should be smooth.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones in the large bowl. Gently mix everything together with a spatula until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Make the glaze: In a small bowl, combine the biscoff, powdered sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Stir with a spoon until the sugar is kind of mixed up with the biscoff like a homogenous paste. It shouldn’t become runny at all. You just don’t want too much loose powdered sugar in the bowl. Add the milk of your choice, stir a bit to get things going. Switch to a whisk and stark whisking firmly until a smooth glaze is achieved. It should make ribbons that last in the bowl when you lift the whisk.

Assemble: Spread the glaze over the cooled cake and top with dried coconut, cacao nibs and chopped almonds if you like. Slice and serve :)

This kind of throw it all together cake is my very favourite kind. A cake doesn’t need to be complicated or fancy to be delicious and to make me happy – especially when it looks as good as this one does.ReplyCancel

I love simple cakes more than I can say. I have a vegan chocolate one that I love as well, but I do believe I’ll be giving YOUR recipe a go next time I’m in need of something of this sort! Looks delicious, and lovely to boot!ReplyCancel

I have yet to find biscoff, but when I do come across it I will definitely bake something up with it. Until then I have no problem throwing together this chocolate cake recipe and whipping up another glaze… it looks too good!ReplyCancel

Personally I cannot think of a better way to response to that kind of love then THIS particular cake.

Oh, I really just want to hug you right now! (and do that crazy dance we talked about)… and be the one how comes over for that semi-short notice fika (fika means kind of like meating up for tea and talk and laughter and an occasional cake)

Oo girl, this is my kind of dessert. Kinda healthy but definitely indulgent, yep. That’s so sweet of Ashlae to send you some Biscoff (and so much more heart-warming than, say, one of those fleeting tweets). I don’t know how to keep up with all the comments and emails and social media stuff and also get stuff done, so it seems like I have to let one thing or another go by the wayside at all times! It can really make a person crazy, can’t it?ReplyCancel

[…] what better way to start a mess than with a cake? Okay, while I could probably handle the whole Humble Chocolate Loaf Cake myself I opted to cut the recipe in half. Yeah, I’m just trying to be not so much of a […]ReplyCancel

Just made this: so moist and delicious :):):) I added an extra tbs of coconut powder (chocoholic!) and it turned out super yammi :) + 1/2 and 1/2 kefir and oatly (oatmilk). Thanks for a tasteful cake recipe!
xxReplyCancel

Hi! This cake looks so incredible, I’m trying it right now! Just wondering if I could use only whole wheat flour instead of both versions of spelt? Spelt flour isn’t available here in India. I’m worried regular whole wheat might make it too dense though…should I mix it up with all-purpose? Thanks!ReplyCancel

So my internet died, and I took a chance using half barley and half whole wheat flours and the cake was perfect! Even added some speculoos to the batter itself, so good! Thank you for an amaaazing recipe :)ReplyCancel

sam06/06/2016 - 4:13 am

Hi! I was thinking of making this cake for a friend’s birthday but I do not have time to bake it on the day itself. If I bake the cake in advance, should I also glaze it and refrigerate it? Or would it be better if I left the glazing part to the actual day, just before serving? Thank you!ReplyCancel

I would leave the glazing to the day of, but not right before serving. You want the glaze to firm up a little bit before you slice it. I would glaze th ecake a few hours before I was bringing it out :)
-LReplyCancel

[…] a plant based community. In need of a sweet treat for a movie night, I stumbled upon a certain chocolate cake with speculoos frosting by, the one and only, Laura Wright. I remember thinking who in the world needs butter and eggs when […]ReplyCancel

Nina10/02/2018 - 5:46 am

Hi I have never seen Biscoff in UK. What could I substitute it with. Any ideas please?ReplyCancel